He Needs to Talk About Kevin

In the new movie Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the title character is looking for a sign.

About halfway through, so was I.

A sign that would tell me when the movie was going to kick into gear.

Jeff (Jason Segel) spends most days on the couch, in the basement of his mother’s house, getting stoned and looking for signs from the universe about what he should do with his life.

Yes, he’s one of those loveable but directionless losers who appear on screen all the time, who we’re asked to root for, even though they don’t really inspire much affection (blame the casting department that we do root for them anyway).

One day, Jeff’s mother, Sharon (Susan Sarandon, randomly cast), asks him to go to the store and get some wood glue. And it’s on the way to fulfill that mission that he meets up with his estranged and more successful brother, Pat (Ed Helms), who isn’t getting along with his wife, Linda (Judy Greer).

Meanwhile, mom works away at her cubicle job, where she’s being flirted with over instant message by a mysterious secret admirer.

It’s just another day in indie film world.

And then there’s Kevin.

Who is Kevin? Nobody knows. But it’s a name that keeps coming up, and who Jeff is sure holds the key to his destiny.

Will Jeff ever figure out what his purpose in life is? Will Pat and Linda patch things up? And what will Sharon do when she discovers who her secret admirer is?

More importantly, will you care (or be surprised) when and if any of these answers are revealed?

This film, from Jay and Mark Duplass (Cyrus, which I liked) is meant to be a slightly whimsical and definitely quirky story of a day in the life of a family that needs a little help getting their lives going again.

The film could use a little help too. It’s about as depressed (and depressing) as Jeff is, and similarly lacking in purpose.

I’m giving Jeff, Who Lives at Home a C.